Beehive.



PATBNTED OCT. 4, 1904. C. LUDLOFP.

BEBHIVE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. Is, 1903.v

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

.N0 MODEL. I

UNITED STATES Patented October 4, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CARL LUDLOFF, OF SAN PEDRO DE LOS PINOS, MEXICO.

BEEHIVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 771,377, dated October4, 1904.

Application tiled November 18,1903. Serial No. 181,628. (No model.)

To L7/Z whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL LUDLoFF, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of San Pedro de los Pinos, D. F., Mexico, have invented a newand Improved Beehive, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to improvements in beehives, an object being toprovide a beehive of simple construction and particularly adapted foruse in places where there are sudden changes of temperatu1e-such, forinstance, asin the high tablelands of Mexico, where hot days arefollowed by cold nights-and which cause in allc'ountries of thoseclimatic conditions considerable loss of bee swarms every year byspring-dwindling if the bees are kept in hives of a construction andmaterial which allow the sudden changes of the outer temperature toinfluence the life of the bees in their habitations. This may be eX-plained by the following: In the early springtime bee swarms die outbecause the old bees who are destined to live over winter into spring'until a new generation of working bees has been raised by the old bees-to take their places in the hive are induced by the warm temperaturewhich penetrates the walls of their hives to exert a 'prematureactivity, shortening their lives. In consequence of this the hivebecomes desolate and queen and brood must starve. The occurrence ofspring-dwindling, the greatest scourge of apiculture in the UnitedStates, is nothing more nor less than the direct consequence of theuntted construction and material of the hives now generally in use inthat country in regard to the given climatic conditions. The damagecaused by spring-dwindling in the United States amounts yearly toone-quarter to onethird, sometimes even more, of all the swarms owned bybee-keepers, and the total loss may aggregate to millionsof dollarsevery year. One observes the ravages alone by springdwindling mainly inthe mountainous parts of the country, being those territories in whichnature provides the best kinds of honey of the finest taste and flavor,and being therefore of high commercial vle/D Doing away withspring-dwindling, as the introduction and use of my hive undoubtedlywarrants according to two years practical tests, means a considerableincrease of the national wealth' by the increase of the number of hives,a greater production of honey in each one of the hives, and an easiermanagement of the apiaries.

I will describe a beehive embodying my invention and then point out thenovelv features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a heehive embodying my invention,showing it partly dismembered. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof.Fig. 3 is a plan view with the cover removed. Fig. 4 is a section on theline m of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section showing a solid partition fordividing the hive into compartments, and Fig. 6 is a section on the linei/ li/ of Fig. l

The base of the hive consists of a frame having side members l and endmembers 2, the said end members having openings 3,

'through which bees may pass either inward or outward, and it may behere stated that these openings may be regulated as to size by placing ablock 4 therein, which will leave a space only sufficiently large topermit one bee to pass at a time, or the spaces may be entirely closedby larger blocks 5.

Secured to the end members of the baseframe, so as to support the sameabove the ground or the like, are cleats 6. Such raising of thebase-frame will permit air to pass underneath.

Secured to the base-frame are thin bottom boards 7 the edges of theboards overlapping, so as to provide slight openings 8 at the ends,through which air may pass. Attached to theupper sides of the sidemembers 1 of the frame and spaced somewhat inward from the inner edgesthereof are side strips 9, and end strips l0 are secured to the ends ofthe baseframe and spaced slightly inward from the inner edges thereof.Designed to be remov ably supported on the base-frame and between thesaid strips 9 are the comb-frames 11. side members and upper members ot'the comb-frames are channeled on the sides, as.

indicated at 12. These channels serve to receive propolis deposited bythe bees, which helps to make the compartments air-tight` and at thesame time, as the propolis is very sticky when warm, as it always is inhives, it will prevent the bees from crawling over the frame and thehands when the frame is taken out for inspection of the work oi thebees.

It will be noted that the bottom strips 13 of each frame are somewhatnarrower than the other strips of the frames in order to allow the beesto enter from the bottom board to the combs.

The several honey-frames placed close together are held in position, ashere shown, by tie cords or ropes, which pass upward against the endmembers and over the top. The end portions of these tieropes consist oftwo members 14 15, one member connecting with said base-frame at oneside and the other member connecting with said base-frame at the otherside, and the two members are joined together aty the top. and themembers of opposite ends are secured together by a drawcord 16, engagingwith hooks on the end cords, as shown. It is to be understood, however,that the invention is not conlined to any particular means for holdingthe frames in position, as it is obvious that other devices than thatshown may be used.

17 18 19 indicate partition-boards of the size of the comb-frames. Thesepartitionboards are designed to separate a hive into separatecompartments, which form independent hives or nests for the bees. Whenone of these boards is placed at the center, as indicated in Figs. 5 and6, and one is placed at each end, there are practically. two hivesemployed. These division-boards are practically used to keep the beeswarm in their compartments and allow the bee-keeper either to eX- tendor to contract the brood and honey chamber according to necessity, andby using' these boards the bees do not need to warm spaces for whichthey have no use. As the warm temperature in a hive can only be producedby the bees consuming greater quantities of honey, the application ofthese boards means the saving of a large amount of honey. Furthermore,as a considerable increase oi' bees can only be expected if the hive iswarm the use of these boards warrants a two to three times greaterincrease of bees than in other hivcs. At a suitable point a perforatedzinc plate 2O is placed, the perforations of which are suiiicientlysmall to prevent the queen bee from assing through to the honey-room ofthe ive.

When the parts are assembled as above described, the hive is to beprotected from the rain by means of a cover removably supportthebase-frame. This cover consists as a whole oi' any suitable materialwhich is a poor conductor of temperature, at the same time keeping outmoisture and rain. As here shown, it comprises a lower rectangular frame21 and an -upper rectangular frame 22, connected by corner-posts. areinner walls 23, consisting of paper or other suitable light material,and outer walls 24, consisting of a light material, such as canvas madeimpervious to the passage of heat or cold. The cover also has an innertop wall 25, similar to the side and end walls 23, and an upper top wall26, similar to the walls 24. The edges of the top wall 26 are extendedoutward, so as to shed moisture or rain.

The several walls above described are spaced apart and the spaces arepacked with a material 27 suitable for resisting cold or to maintain aneven temperature. This filling material may consist of line shavings,excelsior, or the like. The several inner walls, it will be noted, arespaced somewhat from the combframes, so that there is a clear passagefor warm air, and the side portions of the cover are provided withhandles 28, by means of which the cover may be readily raised orlowered.

The. ed on the Aoutwardly-extended portions of Secured to the frames Theimproved hive is distinguished not only In the inside of the hives ispreserved the necessary temperature, a thing of the greatest importancein countries like Mexico that are at a certain height above thesea-level, having hot days and cold nights. It may also be said thatvermin cannot exist in this kind of hive, because the bees do not sufferfrom low temperature and are always able to defend themselves and theirwork against any enemy of that class. The bees are sheltered from windand rain on account of the suitable material covering the hive, and yetthere is a constant ventilation through the base and around the sidesoi' the comb-frames.

As before stated, the cover may be of any suitable material which is apoor conductor of temperature, .at the same time keeping out moistureand rain. An essential feature is the dead-air space between the coverand hive proper, which keeps the bees protected from sudden changes inthe outer temperature and TOO IIO

IIS

enables them to maintain easily that degree of temperature necessary fortheir welfare.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1.,. A beehive comprising a base-frame, bottom boardsattached to said frame and having their edges overlap providing openingsat the ends, a plurality of comb-frames removably supported on saidbase-frame one against another, and a cover for passing over said framesand resting on the base-frame.

2. A beehive comprising a base-frame having ventilation-openings andalso having openings at the ends for the ingress and egress of bees,blocks for entirely closing said openings, blocks for partially closingsaid openings, a plurality of comb-frames supported on the base-frame,the said comb-frames being arranged one against another, and a cover forpassing over the comb-frames and resting on the Vbase-frame.

3. A beehive comprising a base consisting of overlapped boards,providing openings at the ends, a plurality of comb-frames removablysupported close together on said base, a perforated plate adapted to beplaced between the comb-frames, and a removable cover for the hive.

In testimony whereof 1 have signed my name to this speciiication in thepresence of two sub- 30 scribing witnesses.

' CARL LUDLOFF.

Witnesses:

A. GoBREcH'r, EDWARD M. CoNLEY.

